Chapter 1608 - Recruitment
"Given your identity, disguising yourself and infiltrating Lingao is in itself a criminal act," Li Yan said. "Our Elder Council rules by law—the principle is that violations must be prosecuted. Your behavior will certainly be punished under the law."
"Yes, yes, I fully accept any punishment the Elder Council sees fit to impose. I will reform myself thoroughly and become a new man!" Lin Ming said with a bow.
"Sit down. You don't need to be so nervous." Li Yan observed his hollow eyes. Either this man was an Oscar-worthy actor, or the National Police's interrogation techniques were absolutely terrifying...
"Of course, the policy of our Elder Council has always been one of rehabilitation over punishment. Our investigation has confirmed that your motive for infiltrating Lingao was simple. During your time living and working in Lingao, you obeyed the law—except for scribbling on walls in violation of the Public Security Regulations, you didn't do anything illegal. The circumstances are minor..."
"Yes, the Elder Council is wise and sees all—" Lin Ming bowed and scraped.
"All right, I won't mince words." Li Yan flicked his cigarette ash. "Although your offense is minor, as a member of the Great Ming Embroidered Guard, illegally infiltrating our territory means, under Elder Council law, you'd be looking at least three to five years of labor reform in the mines..." He glanced at Lin Ming, catching a flash of despair in his eyes. Then he shifted tack: "However, considering that you have heavy family burdens and we are in urgent need of people, I've suggested to the Elder Council that they give you a lenient sentence—"
Lin Ming froze for a moment. He was a clever man and immediately understood that the other party was recruiting him.
What should he do? Join the Shorn Bandits? That was rebellion! If it were ever discovered, his entire family was still in Foshan—they'd all be executed!
On the other hand, the Shorn Bandits' situation here was flourishing—anyone could see it. Lin Ming reckoned that since the Shorn Bandits had openly revolted in Hainan, with their strength, it was only a matter of time before they contested for the Central Plains. If he got on the "pirate ship" now—no, if he "followed the dragon"—with his abilities, getting titles for his wife and legacy for his children wouldn't be a problem...
But this was still rebellion! Lin Ming's newly-warming thoughts went cold again.
Damned if I do, damned if I don't... Lin Ming knew that if he refused the "suggestion," he'd be dragged off to the legendary mining camp the next day. All that talk of "three to five years of reform"—he'd heard long ago that no one who went there ever came back...
"Take some time to think it over." Li Yan saw his expression shifting and knew he was struggling internally. He smiled. "There are still a few days left."
"Thank you, Chief!"
"I hear you have five wives?" Li Yan suddenly changed the subject.
Lin Ming started, unsure why he was bringing this up. But there was no need to hide it—he nodded: "Thank you for your concern, Chief. Indeed, I have my wife and four concubines at home."
"Quite a burden," Li Yan said casually. "A man of your status and position—your women generally don't work, so you support them all alone. It can't be easy."
Lin Ming's eyelid twitched: Exactly! If anything happened to him—even if the Shorn Bandits didn't kill him and just locked him up for three to five years—his family in Foshan would be ruined! His wives and concubines were used to the good life; once their savings ran out, how would they survive? And with no man of the house to protect them, five beautiful women would be like a piece of tender meat...
He had plenty of friends in Foshan, but they were fair-weather friends at best, completely unreliable. When the time came, they'd be the first to take advantage of the situation...
At this thought, his heart was rent with pain and his mind reeled. Li Yan had achieved his purpose and immediately retreated: "Think it over carefully." He stood and left.
"So? Did he surrender?" Jiang Shan asked.
"He didn't even think about it for a day. That afternoon he sent word asking to see me. When I got there, he immediately knelt and cried: 'Long live the Great Song Emperor! Ten thousand years to Chairman Wen!'..." Li Yan laughed. "That report really was useful."
"He who knows the times is a true hero," Jiang Shan nodded. The interrogation report had mentioned that this Inspector Lin was a "romantic soul"—he had many wives and concubines, and more importantly, he genuinely cared for all those women. He wasn't the type to engage in casual debauchery. Targeting that angle had proven effective.
"But he made a request: he wants to move all his wives and concubines to Lingao—only then will he be able to work for us with peace of mind."
"Of course," Jiang Shan said. "But there's no rush right now."
Li Yan knew what "no rush" meant. For the past year, the External Intelligence Bureau had been intensifying its infiltration of Guangdong, especially the Pearl River Delta region. What the Elder Council planned to do next was no secret to him.
"I think the priority is to get him back to Foshan as soon as possible. He's been away too long—it might be bad for future work."
"The Embroidered Guard Inspectorate in Foshan is a sinecure. He's already requested leave, so coming back a month or two later or earlier won't matter much. The priority is to have him write a letter to reassure his family, and we'll monitor them through the Runshitang channel," Jiang Shan said. "Since he's defecting to us, he has to go through the proper training."
"Thank you for your confidence, Chief!" Lin Ming was in much better spirits now—like a different person from the morning. Though he was briefly thrown off by hearing about "training," Li Yan explained, and he immediately snapped to attention, imitating the "fake Shorn" pose.
"As for your request, leadership has approved it. Of course, we'll need to wait for the right opportunity," Li Yan said. "And once your family moves here, you needn't worry about their livelihood or housing."
"Thank you, Chief." Though Lin Ming felt uncertain inside, he put on an expression of complete trust. He hesitated a moment: "Chief, there's something I'd like to ask—I'm not sure if I should."
"You're one of us now. As long as it doesn't violate regulations, ask away."
"I... I just want to know... what will happen to Li Yongxun..."
"Ha," Li Yan laughed and patted his shoulder. "Still can't forget her, can you?"
Lin Ming flushed: "You jest, Chief. Li Yongxun is my wife's sister. I have to give her family some answer—that's why I came to Lingao in the first place..."
"You can relax on that count. Although Li Yongxun secretly contacted you and failed to report it in time—a disciplinary violation—she's undergoing organizational review. There will be a penalty, but she won't face legal prosecution. She just can't return to Guangdong yet."
"Thank you, Chief. As long as she's safe and sound." Lin Ming nearly shed tears. At that moment, his feelings toward his sister-in-law were a complicated mix of love and resentment.
Li Yan watched his expression and thought: He really is a sentimental man. Such people were rare among men of his social standing in this era. Despite himself, he began to feel a faint liking for Lin Ming.
Wen Desi looked at Ma Qianzhu in his office. The man had gone from "showing signs of balding" to "bald." This gave the still-black-haired Chairman Wen a small satisfaction.
From the look in Ma Qianzhu's eyes, though, there was a similar sentiment. Chairman Wen knew his own appearance probably wasn't as good as he imagined.
"Old Ma, you've been busy lately?"
Ma Qianzhu nodded: "Our work has always been busy."
Wen Desi nodded: "Then I won't waste your time. A few years ago, you proposed establishing a youth organization—something like the Communist Youth League of the past."
"Yes. But the Executive Committee discussed it and concluded that our naturalized youth weren't yet of sufficient quality. The timing wasn't right."
"I think now is about right," Wen Desi said. "Right now, our youth work is mainly at Fragrant-Grass Academy. Admittedly, Fragrant-Grass trains our cadres—our future successors—so it's natural that youth work focuses there. But our industrial workforce is also quite large now. I've reviewed the latest report from Human Resources, and the proportion of young people is very high."
"That's true. Not just in industry, but in agricultural farm work, the commercial sector, and the military—young people make up a large proportion everywhere," Ma Qianzhu said.
"But according to reports from the National Police, the Political Security Bureau, and Human Resources, these young industrial workers have serious ideological problems," Wen Desi said with a frown. "The prevailing philosophy is just about getting fed—at best, getting meat on the table. No ideals, no ambitions—they only think about themselves and their families. They lack the drive to work for the world at large, and they're not eager to learn new knowledge. The older generation of naturalized citizens already have their worldview set—no matter how much effort we put in, we probably can't reform them. But young people still have great potential."
"I've raised this issue before: our ideological transformation of naturalized citizens is insufficient. We haven't put politics first—it's all the old-fashioned approach of bestowing favors. That won't last, and the results are poor."
"You're quite right. Compared to a few thousand students, these hundreds of thousands of young workers are the foundation of our enterprise. Their ideology matters greatly to us. So I think it's time to have a political organization that can unite young people and channel their energy for learning and struggle. After all, young people have more drive and are better at learning—we should make good use of that."
"I completely agree," Ma Qianzhu said. "It's not too late to begin this work now."
"I've already discussed this with the other comrades on the Executive Committee. Everyone is on board—it should pass at the next meeting. I thought you might be familiar with this kind of work, so I'd like you to recommend someone to the Executive Committee to lead the preparations for the Youth League—someone under thirty-five, of course. Let's set that as the cutoff. And they should project a healthy, sunny image—a Youth League shouldn't be led by middle-aged folks." Wen Desi looked at his fingers. "As for the name—let's call it the Elder Council Youth League, to emphasize the Elder Council. Of course, this all needs to be discussed before it's finalized..."